A report surfaced last week that revealed a number ofHellboycharacters from the comics will be featured in the newHellboyreboot, such as Abe Sapien, Alice Monaghan, played by the most recent casting addition,Sasha Lane, and Ben Daimio. Today we have word that Ed Skrein, who is coming off his villainous role as Ajax in last year’sDeadpool, will play Major Ben Daimio, who is described as a “rugged military member” of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (B.P.R.D.). It’s possible that Abe Sapien’s casting will be just around the corner, as we get closer to a September production start.
The Hollywood Reporterreveals that thisB.P.R.D.character Ben Daimio can transform himself into a jaguar, when he’s angered or when he’s in pain. While Abe Sapien was featured in the originalHellboymovies, starring Ron Perlman and directed by Guillermo del Toro, neither Alice Monaghan nor Ben Daimio ever showed up. The production will shoot on location in the U.K. and Bulgaria next month, although an exact production start date has not yet been given.
Ed Skrein joins a cast that includes David Harbour as Hellboy, Ian McShane asProfessor Broom, the title character’s adoptive father and Milla Jovovich in a rare villainous turn as the evil Blood Queen, who is described as an “evil sorceress out to destroy humankind.” While little else is known about the story, the filmmakers are said to be aiming for an R-rated movie that is much more dark and gruesome than the first two movies, 2004’sHellboyand 2008’sHellboy II: Rise of the Golden Army. Fans had been hoping for years that Ron Perlman and Guillermo del Toro will get to come back and make one more movie to close out the trilogy, but now they’re starting over from scratch.
ThisR-rated Hellboyreboot will be directed by Neil Marshall, well known for his genre fare with movies such asThe Descent,DoomsdayandCenturionunder his belt. He has also been nominated for an Emmy Award for his work on HBO’sGame of Thrones, and he has also directed episodes ofBlack Sails,Constantine,Timeless,Westworldand the upcomingLost in Spaceseries. Neil Marshall is working from a script by Andrew Crosby, Christopher Golden andHellboycomics creator Mike Mignola. Larry Gordon and Lloyd Levin are also producing alongside Dark Horse Entertainment’s Mike Richardson.
There were originally reports that this movie would be calledHellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen, which made sense at the time since Milla Jovovich came on to play The Blood Queen shortly thereafter. However, Lionsgate later confirmed that the project is simply calledHellboy, and that it will be a complete reboot of the first two movies that came before it. Ed Skrein starred in his first three movies in 2012,The Sweeney,Ill ManorsandPiggy, before he was cast as Daario Naharis in Season 3 ofGame of Thronesin 2013. He only appeared in three Season 3 episodes and left the series, to be replaced by Michiel Huisman. He went on to star inSword of Vengeance,Kill Your FriendsandThe Transporter Refueled, where he took over the Frank Martin role from Jason Statham, before playing Ajax inDeadpool. He’ll next be seen inTau,Alita: Battle Angel,In DarknessandBorn a King.
